


I'll Finish What You Started

by rebelpadme



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin AND Ben Deserved Better, Fix-It, Flashbacks, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Gen, Kyber Crystals, Prequel Rights, Redeemed Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22220905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelpadme/pseuds/rebelpadme
Summary: Standing on the edge of the fallen Death Star, Kylo Ren stared intently into the sea surrounding him, the waves waging war against themselves.“Ben,” a confident voice rang out behind him, “I’m sorry I didn't reach out sooner.”
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Anakin Skywalker, Kylo Ren/Rey, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	I'll Finish What You Started

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Anakin deserved to be a fully-fledged force ghost and you know, actually talk to his grandson so here. Also I haven't written in years, I don't know if this is good lol.

Standing on the edge of the fallen Death Star, Kylo Ren stared intently into the sea surrounding him, the waves waging war against themselves.

“Ben,” a confident voice rang out behind him, “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner.”

Kylo gripped his lightsaber and planted his feet firmly on the ship, how could anyone have possibly found him here? How did they even manage to get to him? Turning his drenched head to see who was speaking to him, a blue glow came into his vision. It was the ghost of a young man, brought before him by the force. The man was tall with an athletic build; he wore the traditional robes of the Jedi, but possessed no lightsaber. On the left side of his face was a scar that ran from the middle of his forehead to beneath his eye; Kylo thought it was quite similar to his own. The steadfast look the ghost wore on his face reminded Kylo of his mother, and his bright eyes were identical to Uncle Luke’s. 

Kylo shifted his weight and asked “Who are you?” 

The ghost smirked and said “I guess your mother never really warmed up to the idea of me, did she?”

“My mother spoke of the reign of terror Darth Vader imposed on the galaxy, of the wars he waged, of the planets he destroyed, and that even after his death, he managed to somehow ruin her life again.” The ghost was no longer smirking and looked down in shame. “After time I began to idolize this monster, to see myself in his sins, and soon after I heard his voice in my head, telling me to finish what he started, fulfill his destiny. My entire life has been devoted to him, and yet I sense that you are not him.” Kylo turned back around to face the waves.

“I am so sorry Ben, I am sorry you’ve been tormented by what you thought was a guiding voice. Darth Vader is my cruel past, I would never want to pass on the suffering that I went through, I would never want one of my own blood to become like me.” The ghost walked up to the edge to stand beside his grandson. Kylo was taller and larger than him, but with the waves reflecting in his dark eyes, he looked no more than a frightened young boy. “I do wish your mother told you about who I was before I became Vader.”

Kylo glanced towards his grandfather with curiosity, “Who were you? I only know you were a general who had fallen to the dark side.”

“I was a slave. I worked in a parts shop for most of my childhood and then was taken away by the Jedi. They called me the Chosen One and they were terrified of me, only Qui-Gon saw the good in me, possibly against his better judgement. When he was killed and Obi-Wan became my master, there was always a lack of trust. I knew he cared for me, but he always insisted I was at an arm's length. That constant suspicion of my power eventually did turn me to the dark side. I thought I could only trust one person; my longtime friend Palpatine. As the Jedi questioned his motives more, their distrust of me grew even larger. I was too blind to see that he was playing the Senate, the Jedi, the war, and most of all, me. He knew my greatest weakness, that I would do anything to save my love. He saw the destruction I brought to those who killed my mother, and tried to use it for his own benefit. He took Padmé, my dearest Padmé—” Kylo could see the tears forming in his eyes.

“He told me I could save her,” Anakin reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a small wooden necklace, he regarded it with great care. “He said that the Jedi, even Obi-Wan, wouldn’t help me since I’d betrayed their precious code. He alone could help me save Padmé from an untimely death. I should’ve trusted her and sought help with my true Master. I didn’t know it at the time, but he did truly care for me, he would’ve helped us,” Anakin closed his fist around the pendant and looked back to Kylo, “and then my lust for power outgrew my love for my wife. It is something I regret every waking moment. Everytime I close my eyes I see myself possessed by the darkness, accusing her of betrayal, choking her within inches of her life. And yet, she still believed in me.” 

Anakin looked over to his grandson with a sad smile, “She believed there was still good in me up until the very end, and then Palpatine killed her.” He furrowed his brow and gazed into the clashing sea. “He knew the only way to gain complete control over me was to take away the one thing I loved. Palpatine used her life force to restore me and use me as his tool.” He looked down at the carved wooden charm, a gift from so long ago from a naive boy, to a kind girl, “I often wish I would’ve died on Mustafar, to prevent the suffering of Padmé, Obi-Wan, and the countless innocent lives I destroyed in my path.” 

Kylo looked away and thought of the destruction he had wrought over the galaxy, wielded as Snoke’s weapon, perhaps he too should’ve been killed by his Master. Anakin cast a sharp look in his direction 

“I sense your thoughts, they mislead you. You are not corrupted with power, Ben, you are a young boy, trying to find your place in the galaxy, your family, and yourself. We are not so different from each other, both weighed down by a legacy we’re expected to uphold, manipulated by mentors we believed were the only ones who truly understood what it was to be a Skywalker. What even is a Skywalker?” His face softened as he looked at the trembling boy, 

“It means nothing Ben, let go of who you think you must be, be it Kylo Ren or Ben the Skywalker. It’s ok to just be yourself.”

“I wanted to be a pilot.” Ben couldn’t meet his grandfather’s eyes. “Just like my father, always off on some adventure. I only learned the force because they became afraid of me.” Kylo thought of the irredeemable deeds he’d committed, namely the murder of his father, his role model. It had haunted him since the second he’d ignited his saber. 

“Your father forgives you, Ben, and your mother as well. They both sacrificed themselves to prove that they still love and believe in you. A special kind of hope lives in the Skywalker family. It is the hope Padmé had for me, the hope your uncle had for Vader, and the hope your mother and father have for you. Hope is the strongest power in the galaxy, not the lightside or the darkside of the force, only love and hope can overcome all. It’s ok to go back Ben, and although your mother is no longer with you, you know someone else will accept you back with open arms.” 

Kylo thought of Rey and her determination to bring him back to his mother, her unwavering hope in him. Just moments ago she’d confessed to him that she had wanted to take the hand of Ben Solo, not the masked monster he pretended to be. He’d always been intrigued by her anger and her immense strength, she was a tour de force, quite literally. 

Beautiful, yet deadly, she carved a path of destruction in the forests of Starkiller Base. Her untamed power first led Kylo to think she’d make an excellent dark-sider, but when he couldn’t get her out of his thoughts, he knew it must be something more. He acted on his admiration of the girl when she was threatened by his old master, Snoke. Possibly the only thing he’d ever been certain about was that Snoke would not manipulate and torture Rey as he’d done to Kylo. And so he killed him. 

In hindsight, Kylo should’ve defected with her after they’d defeated the guards. With his master dead, what reason did he have to stay in the First Order? But he’d been selfish, and wanted her and command of the Order for himself. And only when he was left to rule alone did he realize that it meant nothing without Rey. 

Kylo pondered the story of his grandparents, in love in tragic circumstances, with his grandfather throwing away his entire future for the chance to protect his beloved wife, but becoming corrupted by the darkness. He knew he didn’t want this to be his future as well. 

“I know what I have to do.” Kylo looked back to find his grandfather was gone. He shifted his gaze in disbelief back to the waves, which seemed to be calming. The raised his lightsaber and gave it a steady look. Its darkened hilt and vents a reminder of the volatility of his anger, the pain and destruction he had caused. Could he really change his fate? Was he worthy of forgiveness?

He thought about a story his Uncle Luke had mentioned one night at the Temple, a story about a force user named Ahsoka Tano who had purified a once corrupted kyber crystal through meditation. When he was a boy, he thought it was a mere myth meant to further Luke’s light side propaganda, but now he wonders if it was true. Turning his lightsaber, he opens a small panel and extracts the crystal. It was small and cracked, corrupted by young Ben Solo on the first night of his training under Snoke. He closed his fist around the crystal and tried to reach into the light side of the force. 

In his meditations, he saw himself as a child, being hoisted into the air by his father with his mother laughing in the background. He saw Luke handing him his crystal, explaining that it was one of the few left on Ilum, he instructed a young Ben to protect it and treat it with care. He then saw the hopeful eyes of Rey, on the elevator of the Supremacy, describing the future she had seen for him when they had touched fingertips, that he would come back to the light. 

With a gasp, he realised that the crystal was searing his palm. He opened his fist to find a white crystal, the crack was now healed but still bore the scar; it served as a reminder of what he had been through. 

It was if the force was telling him that he was forgiven. Free. It was his own limitations that had prevented him from leaving the darkness, he now saw that those he rejected would welcome him back, without questions asked.

Ben Solo set off to find the skiff Rey had used to cross the now slowing sea, he had a debt to the galaxy to stop any further harm from the First Order and Palpatine. He thought of Rey and her hopeful eyes and started his journey.

“I’ll finish what you started, grandfather.”


End file.
